Change of life insurance without contact with father

Questioner

When I was born, my parents took out a life insurance policy for me (37) and my sister (40). These insurance policies were taken out for the children and are registered in my father's name. My sister and I are the first beneficiaries and then my father, according to the insurer. My parents divorced shortly after I was born, after which my mother continued to pay the premium. She regularly received letters in the mailbox that were addressed to my father. Now, many years later - I have seen my father once in my life - I have contacted the insurance company. My request was to change my father's name on the policy to my mother's name or my own name. This is not possible, according to the insurance company, unless my father agrees and signs a form. My mother, sister and I do not want to have contact, so this is not an option. The policy represents a value of approximately €3800 for both children. This was built up because my mother paid the premium for our insurance that was taken out in my father's name at the time. The future value of the policy will be paid out to the children around 2030. It is not possible for us to remove my father from the insurance contract without his signature. As long as the insurance is in his name, he can in fact have the amount paid out. This puts me (and my sister) in the situation that we do not have a death insurance policy (this is what life insurance was intended for) if my father has it paid out. The insurance company suggested that if my mother stopped paying the premium, the policy would lapse. If it was a value of up to a few hundred euros, I would choose this. However, the value is more and I do not see it as my property, but something of my sensible mother. The fact is that none of us have a say in this. What can I do to - so long after the divorce - get my father's name changed on the life insurance policy, without having to contact him? The divorce papers will probably still be somewhere, checking the bank account from which the premium was debited can be done and the postal address has been the same for 25 years and this is the address where my mother lives.

Lawyer

I fear that it is not possible to change the name of the insurance without your father's cooperation. So you will have no choice but to contact him for this. Since you do not wish to contact him yourself, I can do this for you if you wish. Please feel free to contact me without obligation if you have any questions or require legal assistance.

Lawyer

Your father is the policyholder and you cannot change that without his consent. Incidentally, I have had a similar case. A problem here is that the divorce took place a long time ago. In the papers you should be able to see how the division went with regard to this life insurance. (if nothing has been arranged, your mother will continue to pay and your father is the policyholder.) Also take the policy and the conditions with you to see if there are still possibilities. Furthermore, it is important to continue to ensure that the policy is not bought out.